Meowtel's
Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the "Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Meowtel, Inc. ("Meowtel," "we," "us," "our") governing your use of the Meowtel website(s), including www.meowtel.com (the "Sites") and mobile application(s) (the "Apps") (together "Platform") and related products and services (such as Cat Sitting and Meowtel's Gift Card Program) and other online or offline communications (collectively referred to as the "Services").

The use of all personal data you submit while using our Services or which we collect about you is governed by our Privacy Policy ("Privacy Policy"). A copy of our Privacy Policy is available here and our Anti-Harassment Policy is available here. You acknowledge that by using our Services you have reviewed these Terms, Privacy Policy, and the Harassment Policy (together, the "Agreement").

Your consent at registration and continued use of our Services constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to all of the terms and conditions in these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Anti-Harassment Policy, as well as any future amendments and additions to this Agreement as we may publish from time to time. If any future changes to this Agreement are unacceptable to you or cause you to no longer be in compliance with this Agreement, you must deactivate your account, and immediately stop using our Services.

You may be eligible for certain insurance coverages in connection with the Services. Details and eligibility requirements for insurance coverage are detailed in our Insurance Terms.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT AND ABIDE BY ITS TERMS, YOU MAY NOT USE OR ACCESS OUR SERVICES.

PLEASE NOTE: SECTION 27, WHICH CONTAINS JURISDICTION-SPECIFIC PROVISIONS, SPECIFIES HOW USERS AND MEOWTEL RESOLVE DISPUTES. FOR U.S. USERS, SECTION 27 CONTAINS AN ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION, REQUIRES YOU TO SUBMIT DISPUTES AND CLAIMS YOU HAVE AGAINST MEOWTEL TO BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY AS IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING, IF APPLICABLE, YOUR RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION.

BY ACKNOWLEDGING THE TERMS OF SERVICE AND/OR USING OUR SERVICES, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREE, WITHOUT LIMITATION OR QUALIFICATION, TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, AS APPLICABLE, THE DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND ARBITRATION AGREEMENT) AND YOU ACCEPT ALL OF ITS TERMS.

A few highlights of these Terms include:

1. You must be at least the legally required age in the jurisdiction in which you reside (18 years old for U.S.-based users), and otherwise capable of entering into binding contracts, in order to use or access our Services (Section 2).
2. Your agreement that the technology for our Services is provided "as is" and without warranty (Section 16).
3. Your agreement that Meowtel provides no warranty and has no liability regarding User action on our Services or the performance of Cat Sitters (Section 16) or of any third parties whose services may be accessible through the Platform.
4. Your acknowledgment and agreement that Meowtel does not supervise, scope, direct, control, or monitor a Cat Sitter's work and the Cat Sitting performed (Section 1).
5. Your acknowledgement and agreement that Clients are solely responsible for determining if the Cat Sitter they hire is qualified to perform the Cat Sitting (Sections 1 and 22).
6. Your acknowledgement and agreement that Cat Sitters are independent contractors of Clients and not employees, independent contractors or service providers of Meowtel (Section 1).
7. Your agreement to hold harmless and indemnify Meowtel from claims due to your use or inability to use our Services or content submitted from your account to our Sites or through our Services (Section 17).
8. Your agreement, to the full extent permitted by applicable law, to arbitrate disputes with Meowtel on an individual basis.
9. Your acknowledgment and agreement that Clients may use audio and video recording devices to monitor Cat Sitters' performance of the Services.
10. Fees payable will be as set forth on the Fees page.

1. Our Services Connect Cat Sitters and Clients

Our Services provide a web-based platform that enables connections between Clients and Cat Sitters. "Clients" are individuals and/or businesses seeking to obtain services for in-home care of their domestic pet cats ("Cat Sitting") from Cat Sitters and are therefore clients of Cat Sitters, and "Cat Sitters" are contractors/businesses seeking to perform Cat Sitting for Clients. Clients and Cat Sitters together are hereinafter referred to as "Users". If you agree on the terms of a Cat Sitting offer with another User, you and such other User form a Service Agreement directly between the two of you as set forth in more detail in Section 3 below.

CAT SITTERS ARE INDEPENDENT BUSINESS OWNERS. CAT SITTERS ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OF CLIENTS AND NOT EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AGENTS, JOINT VENTURERS, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS OR FRANCHISEES OF MEOWTEL. MEOWTEL DOES NOT PERFORM CAT SITTING AND DOES NOT EMPLOY INDIVIDUALS TO PERFORM CAT SITTING. BY CONNECTING PEOPLE AND BUSINESSES SEEKING SERVICES WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS, MEOWTEL OPERATES AS AN ONLINE REFERRAL MARKETPLACE THAT CONNECTS CLIENTS WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS (CAT SITTERS) WHO WISH TO PERFORM A VARIETY OF CAT SITTING RELATED SERVICES. MEOWTEL IS NOT A PROVIDER OF PET SERVICES OF ANY KIND INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION CAT SITTING OR VETERINARY SERVICES NOR IS IT LICENSED TO DO SO.

USERS HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT MEOWTEL DOES NOT SUPERVISE, SCOPE, DIRECT, CONTROL OR MONITOR A CAT SITTER'S WORK AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS (TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW) ANY RESPONSIBILITY AND LIABILITY FOR THE WORK PERFORMED AND THE CAT SITTING IN ANY MANNER, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO A WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF GOOD AND WORKMANLIKE SERVICES, WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF QUALITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR COMPLIANCE WITH ANY LAW, STATUTE, ORDINANCE, REGULATION, OR CODE.

Any reference on our Services to a Cat Sitter being rated, licensed or credentialed in some manner, or “background checked,” “vetted,” or similar language designations indicates only that the Cat Sitter has completed a relevant account process or met certain criteria and does not represent anything else. Any such description is not an endorsement, certification or guarantee by Meowtel of such Cat Sitter’s skills or qualifications or whether they are licensed, trustworthy, safe or suitable. Instead, any such description is intended to be useful information for Clients to evaluate when they make their own decisions about the identity and suitability of Cat Sitters whom they contact or interact with via our Services. Meowtel reserves the right to take any and all contractual and other legal actions available against Cat Sitters, should it become aware of any misrepresentation of a skill or certification whether or not this misrepresentation resulted in a damage to a cat and Cat Sitters shall be solely liable for any damages resulting from such misrepresentation or wrongful administration of a medication or misconduct in the provision of care to a cat.

Our Services enable connections between Users for the fulfillment of Cat Sitting. Meowtel is not responsible for the performance or communications of Users, nor does it have control over the quality, timing, legality, failure to provide, or any other aspect whatsoever of Cat Sitting, Cat Sitters, or Clients, nor of the integrity, responsibility, competence, qualifications, or any of the actions or omissions whatsoever of any Users, or of any ratings or reviews provided by Users with respect to each other. Meowtel makes no warranties or representations about the suitability, reliability, timeliness, or accuracy of the Cat Sitting requested or services provided by, or the communications of or between, Users identified through our Services, whether in public or private, via on- or off-line interactions, or otherwise howsoever.

Meowtel reserves the right to rank Cat Sitters in any search queries at its sole discretion. Meowtel may use a variety of factors to determine how to rank Cat Sitters as Meowtel may in its sole discretion deem relevant.

Worker Classification and Withholdings

Meowtel does not employ Cat Sitters. Meowtel is not responsible for and will not be liable for workers' compensation or any tax payments or withholding, including but not limited to applicable sales taxes, unemployment or employment insurance, social security, disability insurance or any other applicable federal or state withholdings in connection with a User's use of our Services. Each User assumes all liability for proper classification of such User's workers based on applicable legal guidelines.

2. User Background Checks and User Representations and Warranties

User Background Checks

Users may be subject to an automated review process before they can register for and during their use of our Services, which may include but is not limited to: identity verification, right to work checks, and criminal background checks, using third-party services as appropriate ("Background Checks"). Although Meowtel may perform, or cause to be performed, Background Checks, Meowtel cannot confirm that each User is who they claim to be, and Meowtel cannot and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or reliability of Background Check information.

When interacting with other Users, you should exercise caution and common sense to protect your personal safety, data, and property, just as you would when interacting with other persons whom you don't know. Meowtel will not be liable for any false or misleading statements made by Users of our Services.

You will promptly disclose to Meowtel in writing if you have any potentially relevant criminal convictions (other than minor fixed penalty parking or speeding offenses), that arise during your use of our Services.

NEITHER MEOWTEL, NOR ANY OF ITS PARENTS, AFFILIATES OR LICENSORS, INCLUDING THEIR RESPECTIVE DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, SHAREHOLDERS, AGENTS, INVESTORS, SUBSIDIARIES, ATTORNEYS, REPRESENTATIVES, INSURERS, EMPLOYEES, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS "AFFILIATES") IS RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR THE CONDUCT, ACTS, OR OMISSIONS, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE, OF ANY USER OF OUR SERVICES AND, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU HEREBY RELEASE MEOWTEL AND AFFILIATES FROM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY, CLAIMS, DEMANDS, OR DAMAGES OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, SUSPECTED AND UNSUSPECTED, DISCLOSED AND UNDISCLOSED, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH OUR SERVICES.

User Representations and Warranties

All Users represent and warrant that:

1. You are at least of the legally required age in the jurisdiction in which you reside (18 years of age or older for U.S. based users), and are otherwise capable of entering into binding contracts;
2. You have the right, authority and capacity to enter into this Agreement and to abide by the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and that you will so abide;
3. You have read, understand, and agree to be bound by these Terms, the Privacy Policy, and the Harassment Policy;
4. You will fulfill the commitments you make to other Users, communicate clearly and promptly through the Meowtel communication channels, be present and/or available at the time you agree upon with your Cat Sitter/ Client as the case may be, and only utilize the third-party payment service provider specified or approved by Meowtel to make or receive payment for services provided (Checkout.com for the Client and PayPal or Venmo for the Cat Sitter) through our Services (the "PSP");
5. You will act professionally, respectfully, and responsibly in your interactions with other Users and Meowtel staff. In the event that unwell, concerning, or hostile behavior is demonstrated to other Users or to Meowtel staff, including sending repeated or unwanted communications, Meowtel reserves the right to limit your usage of our Services, which may include terminating your account;
6. You will use Meowtel's support resources responsibly and in a manner that does not place undue strain on the platform's services. Excessive or unreasonable use of support resources, as determined by Meowtel at its sole discretion, may result in the termination of your account.
7. You will only contact users regarding services offered and permissible through Meowtel. You will not attempt to use any part of Meowtel’s service to contract for services other than those offered through Meowtel, nor will you offer, request, or accept any such offer or request.
8. You are responsible for identifying and obtaining any required licenses, permits, registrations, or any other requirements under applicable laws (the "Requirements") before using our services and receiving Cat Sitting services;
9. Neither Meowtel nor the Cat Sitters (in the case of Clients) shall have any liability in connection with your failure to meet any such Requirements; it being understood that a Cat Sitter may refuse to provide the Services if they reasonably suspect that the Client is in violation of any such Requirements;
10. You will use your real name or business name and an up-to-date photo on your profile;
11. When using or accessing our Services, you will act in accordance with all applicable local, state, provincial, national, or international law or custom and in good faith;
12. You will not use our Services for the purchase or delivery of alcohol, or any other controlled or illegal substances or services;
13. Where you enter into this Agreement on behalf of a company or other organization, you represent and warrant that you have authority to act on behalf of that entity and to bind that entity to this Agreement; and
14. Other than as fully and promptly disclosed in writing to Meowtel, you do not have any motivation, status, or interest that Meowtel may reasonably wish to know about in connection with our Services, including without limitation, if you are using or will or intend to use our Services for any journalistic, academic, investigative, or unlawful purpose.

Cat Sitters additionally agree, represent, and warrant that:

1. When using our Services, you are operating as a sole proprietor, partnership, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, corporation or other business entity;
2. You are customarily engaged in an independently established business of the same nature as the services performed for Clients through our Services, and maintain an independent clientele;
3. You have the unrestricted right to work in the jurisdiction in which you will be performing Cat Sitting;
4. If the Cat Sitting is performed in a jurisdiction that requires you to have a business license or business tax registration, you have the required business license or business tax registration;
5. You are responsible for identifying and obtaining any required licenses, permits, or registrations before offering services and undertaking Cat Sitting;
6. You have any and all insurance required to operate your business and provide your services;
7. You will uphold minimum standards of client satisfaction and performance, as outlined here;
8. You will honor your commitments to other Users on the Platform, including by responding to messages promptly and accepting or declining all requests before they expire; maintaining an accurate and up-to-date availability schedule; and staying the full duration of each visit as reserved;
9. You will remain in good standing on the platform by maintaining regularly updated and accurate information in your sitter listing. You will meet client expectations regarding services provided and communication;
10. You will respect the property of Clients and you will not steal, damage, misuse, or abuse any contents in their home and will return any keys or other property granted to you for the successful completion of services in a timely manner. Furthermore, you will agree to honor and follow the Client's home rules and cat instructions, and will not introduce any new item, device, or material, including food, to the home without prior consent of the Client; additionally you will not utilize the Client's home for any other purpose other than to provide cat sitting services;
11. You are the only individual authorized to enter the Client's home and will not bring guests, partners, friends, or family members;
12. You will only offer and provide services for which you have the necessary skills, expertise, and are permissible by Meowtel. You will provide those services safely and in accordance with all applicable laws;
13. You will keep all communication with the Client within the Meowtel platform;
14. You will contact both the Client and Meowtel during an emergency situation;
15. You will not allow any Cat listed on a Meowtel reservation outside for the duration of the reservation. Outside is defined as, but not limited to, patios, hallways, balconies, backyards, gardens, garages, and rooftops;
16. You will keep referrals in-network and not provide third-party solutions or competitive recommendations to Meowtel Clients;
17. You consent to being subject to video surveillance, audio collection, and photography via Client in-home cameras and security devices. This surveillance is permitted to be used during Meowtel customer complaint escalations and may adversely affect your status as a Sitter;
18. You will respect the privacy (including without limitation private, family and home life), property, and data protection rights of Clients and will not record (whether video or audio or otherwise) any interaction by or with any Client and/or Meowtel in connection with our Services without the prior written consent of Meowtel and/or the relevant Client, as applicable; any violation of this representation shall result in an immediate cancellation of your account in addition to any additional legal remedies that Meowtel or the Client may take; and
19. You will not subcontract the Services to any third party and understand that given the personal nature of these Services, any violations of this provision will result in the immediate termination of your account.

3. Contract between Clients and Cat Sitters

You acknowledge and agree that a legally binding contract with another User (the "Service Agreement") is formed when you and that User agree on the terms of a Cat Sitting assignment. The terms of the Service Agreement include the terms set forth in this Section 3, the engagement terms proposed and accepted on our Services, and any other contractual terms accepted by both the Cat Sitter and their Client to the extent such terms do not conflict with the terms in this Agreement, including this Section 3, and do not expand Meowtel's obligations or restrict Meowtel's rights under this Agreement. Meowtel is not a party to any Service Agreement and the formation of a Service Agreement will not, under any circumstances, create an employment or other service relationship between Meowtel and the Cat Sitter, nor will it create an employment relationship between the Client and the Cat Sitter. Users do not have authority to enter into written or oral - whether implied or express - contracts on behalf of Meowtel. Meowtel's role, beyond enabling connections between Clients and Cat Sitters via its web-based communications Platform, is to act as a limited payment collection agent for the Cat Sitter to facilitate payment for Cat Sitting on behalf of the Cat Sitter through our Services using the PSP. In acting as the limited payment collection agent for Cat Sitting on our Services, Meowtel disclaims any other agency or authority to act on behalf of the Cat Sitter, and assumes no liability or responsibility for any acts or omissions of the Cat Sitter, either within or outside of our Services.

While using our Services, Clients agree not to be present or to have anyone present in the premises where Cat Sitting is to be performed, as of the time the Cat Sitting has officially begun (i.e. the first date and time listed on a confirmed reservation). Cat Sitters shall have the right to decline or interrupt Services if, during the performance of the Services, the Client or any other person is present at the premises. Clients agree that if someone other than them books the Cat Sitting on their behalf, they are appointing that person as their agent ("Client's Agent") and the Cat Sitter may take and follow direction from the Client's Agent as if such direction was given from the Client him or herself. If you are a Client's Agent and accessing and using our Services on behalf of a Client, you represent that you have the authority to act as their agent and to bind that person as the principal to all provisions of these Terms of Service. Client assumes full and sole responsibility for the acts and omissions of Client's Agents.

By using the Services, Clients agree that they have read, understand, and agree to be bound by Meowtel's Fit for Service Home Environments policies available here.

The Client shall pay their Cat Sitter(s) in full for all Cat Sitting services via the PSP at the rates agreed to by the parties in the Service Agreement. Each User agrees to comply with the Service Agreement and this Agreement during the engagement, performance and completion of Services.

In case Client wishes to use audio or video recording devices to monitor the Cat Sitter's Cat Sitting, Client shall provide Cat Sitter prior notice. Cat Sitter acknowledges and agrees that Client may have audio or video recording devices to monitor their Cat Sitting. By accepting the Terms, Cat Sitter hereby waives the right to refuse any such recording, whether or not notice of such recording has been provided to Cat Sitter.

4. Billing and Payment

Users of our Services contract for Cat Sitting directly with other Users. Meowtel will not be a party to any contracts for Cat Sitting or services, however payments will be routed via the PSP through Meowtel. Meowtel is not obligated to compensate Cat Sitter for Client's failure to pay for Services. Fees payable will be as set forth on the Fees page which may be updated from time to time by Meowtel in its sole discretion. Fee structures may vary from one locale to another due to Meowtel's need to comply with the laws, regulations, and ordinances of a particular jurisdiction; Users are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the applicable Fees before entering into a Service Agreement.

For purposes of clarity, "Fees" means:

The pricing terms provided by the Cat Sitter and agreed upon by the Sitter and the Client, along with any out-of-pocket expenses agreed to by the Cat Sitter and the Client and properly submitted by the Cat Sitter in connection with the Cat Sitting (“Cat Sitting Fee”);

Any service fees or other surcharges applied by Meowtel in connection with the Services, as set forth on the Fees page, may include without limitation the Trust and Insurance Fee, Platform Fee, holiday surcharge fees, cancellation or no-show fees, registration fees, and variable commissions based on total reservation earnings with each Client, as agreed upon between the Cat Sitter and Meowtel (collectively, the “Service Charges”).

In addition, a tip or gratuity, as applicable, may be added by the Client or at the Client's discretion to the Fees and all such tips or gratuities shall go directly to the Cat Sitter.

Although Cat Sitters are free to see their Cat Sitting Fee, Meowtel shall have the right to set a minimum Cat Sitting Fee on the Fees page, which may revised from time to time by Meowtel at its sole discretion.

All Fees must be paid through the PSP. Users of our Services will be required to provide their payment method details to the PSP. Cat Sitters will be required to set up an account with the PSP, which may require any or all of the following: registration with the PSP, agreement with the terms of service of the PSP (the "PSP Services Agreement"), and completion of a vetting process and/or account validation at the request of the PSP. By accepting these Terms of Service, each Cat Sitter agrees that they have downloaded or printed, and reviewed and agreed to, the relevant PSP Services Agreement, as required by the PSP. Please note that Meowtel is not a party to the PSP Services Agreement and that you, the PSP and any other parties listed in the PSP Services Agreement are the parties to the PSP Services Agreement and that Meowtel has no obligations, responsibility or liability to any Cat Sitter or other party under the PSP Services Agreement.

Cat Sitter acknowledges that transfer fees may apply to the payments made by Clients and agrees to bear such transfer fees.

To help prevent fraud and safeguard User information from the risk of unauthorized access, Meowtel and/or the PSP may validate an account before activation and prior to each booking. As part of the validation process, temporary charges may be placed on the account associated with the User and then refunded within 1-3 business days. Due to the difference in PSP and credit card issuer requirements, this temporary charge may vary depending on the estimated value of the Cat Sitting transaction.

When a Client receives confirmation through our Services or via email that a Cat Sitting reservation has been requested, Client automatically authorizes the PSP to process the Payment(s). Clients may cancel up to forty-eight hours prior to the start of a Cat Sitting reservation in which case an amount equivalent to the Payment amount shall be credited to the Client's Gift Card Balance. Thereafter, Clients will not be issued a refund.

Any payment due from Meowtel to a Cat Sitter will be paid within 2 business days following the completion of the Cat Sitting Services. If Meowtel has a reasonable suspicion that the Cat Sitter has engaged in fraudulent activity, misconduct, misuse of the Services, failure to adequately perform Cat Sitting Services, or determines in its sole discretion that there is another similarly compelling reason to withhold payment to the Cat Sitter for the protection of Meowtel, Clients, the Meowtel community, or third parties, Meowtel reserves the right to: (i) issue a hold on amounts otherwise payable to Cat Sitters; (ii) refund the Client, provide credits, or recommend that third-party payment service providers, including without limitation the PSP, restrict the Cat Sitter's access to funds in their account under the same circumstances; or (iii) offset or apply amounts otherwise owed to the Cat Sitter against claims settled to the benefit of the Client.

Users of our Services will be liable for any taxes required to be paid on the Cat Sitting provided under the Agreement.

5. Contests, Gift Cards, and Promotional Codes

Meowtel may from time to time provide certain promotional opportunities and contests to Users. All such promotions will be run at the sole discretion of Meowtel, and can be implemented, modified, or removed at any time by Meowtel without advance notification. The liability of Meowtel and Affiliates, as well as any of Meowtel's corporate partners pursuant to such promotional opportunities and contests, shall be subject to the limitations set forth in Section 16 of these Terms of Service.

Meowtel gift cards ("Gift Cards") may be available and can be used to pay for Cat Sitting, Meowtel Service Charges, and tips or gratuity associated with Cat Sitting provided through our Services, in part or in full, but may not be used to pay for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses. Meowtel promotional codes ("Promo Codes") may be available and can be used to pay for Cat Sitting and Meowtel Service Charges in part or in full, but may not be used to pay for reimbursement of out-of-pocket expenses or tips or gratuity associated with Cat Sitting provided through our Services.

(a) Promo Codes

Promo Codes are an offer by Meowtel to reduce the amount a Client has to pay in relation to Cat Sitting. Promo Codes will not affect the amount a Cat Sitter ultimately receives. The use or application of any Promo Code is solely intended as a promotional initiative and does not in any way create a relationship or engagement between Meowtel or the Cat Sitter or Client, or constitute wages, fees or other amounts paid to the Cat Sitter by Meowtel. You agree that you will use Promo Codes in accordance with the terms and conditions governing the Promo Code. A new user Promo Code may only be used once by any User, regardless of the email address used during registration. Meowtel reserves the right to withhold or deduct credits or other features or benefits obtained through the use of a Promo Code by you or any other User in the event that the use or redemption of a Promo Code was in error, fraudulent, illegal, or otherwise in violation of the applicable Promo Code terms and conditions or this Agreement.

(b) Gift Cards

Gift cards can only be used in connection with our Services, are not replaceable if lost or stolen and have no expiration date. Gift cards have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for cash except as required by law. Gift Cards must be entered directly into the Client account; they may not be directly accepted by Cat Sitters as a payment method.

A Gift Card cannot be combined with any other Gift Cards, gift certificates or Promo Codes. No credit card, credit line, overdraft protection, or deposit account is associated with your Gift Card. You cannot "reload" (or add value/balance) to your Gift Card at this time. If a Gift Card holder's purchase exceeds the amount of that Gift Card's balance, the Gift Card holder must pay the difference by another means. Unused Gift Card balances are not transferable. Meowtel reserves the right to correct the balance of a Gift Card if Meowtel believes that a billing error has occurred. Meowtel reserves the right to limit quantities of Gift Cards purchased by any person or entity, and to cancel a Gift Card if it believes that the Gift Card was obtained through fraudulent or unauthorized means. Gift Cards and their use are subject to this Agreement, and use of a Gift Card constitutes acceptance thereof.

In certain U.S. states, after a period of time, Meowtel may remit the cash associated with unused Gift Card balances to the state pursuant to that state's abandoned property laws. Once Meowtel has remitted such cash to a state, the Gift Card may no longer be redeemed and Meowtel may direct the Gift Card holder to that state's government instead. Gift Cards have no cash value and are not redeemable for cash except in the following thirteen U.S. states where it is required by law to the extent noted below. If you are a resident of one of these U.S. states, and the balance on your Gift Card is less than the respective dollar amount below, you may redeem it for cash:

1. California USD 10
2. Colorado USD 5
3. Connecticut USD 3
4. Maine USD 5
5. Massachusetts 10% original value remaining
6. Montana USD 5
7. New Jersey USD 5
8. Oregon USD 5
9. Rhode Island USD 1
10. Texas USD 2.50
11. Vermont USD 1
12. Washington USD 5

Simply send your Gift Card along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Meowtel Inc., 1111B S Governors Ave #3554, Dover, DE, 19904 Attention: Gift Cards.

Meowtel will verify your address, confirm that your Gift Card balance qualifies you for redemption, and send you a check for the exact amount in the envelope provided. If your Gift Card balance is equal to or greater than the cap, or Meowtel cannot verify your residency, Meowtel will return your Gift Card in the envelope provided. Meowtel will be unable to redeem or return your Gift Card without a self-addressed, stamped envelope and is not responsible for mail that does not arrive at the address provided and cannot guarantee delivery in any way after submittal to the US Postal Service.

6. Public Areas; Acceptable Use

Our Services may contain profiles, email systems, blogs, message boards, reviews, ratings, postings, chat areas, messaging between Users, news groups, forums, communities and/or other message or communication facilities ("Public Areas") that allow Users to communicate with, or view content posted by, other Users. You may only use such community areas to send and receive messages and materials that are relevant and proper to the applicable forum. For the safety and integrity of our Services, you should not share your personal contact information with other Users. Public Areas are not private, and by sharing a photo or video in a Public Area, including messaging between Users, you grant Meowtel an irrevocable license to use the image or video at our discretion, including for advertising, marketing, or on our Services as further described in Section 27.

Without limitation, our Services may not be used for any of the following purposes:

1. To defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten, intimidate, misrepresent, mislead or otherwise violate the rights (such as, but not limited to, rights of privacy, confidentiality, reputation, and publicity) of others, including Users and Meowtel staff;
2. To publish, post, upload, distribute or disseminate any profane, defamatory, infringing, obscene or unlawful language, material or information;
3. To upload files that contain software or other material that violates the intellectual property rights (or rights of privacy or publicity) of any User, third party, or Meowtel;
4. To upload files or scripts such as Trojan horses, corrupt files, SQL injections, worms, timebombs, cancelbots or any other files or software that may damage Meowtel or its Users' computers;
5. To advertise or offer to sell any goods or services for any commercial purpose through our Services which are not relevant to our Services;
6. To post or complete Cat Sitting assignments that would require a User to (i) purchase or obtain gift cards or money orders (ii) purchase high value items (over $300) without obtaining pre-authorization from Meowtel, (iii) travel into different countries during the performance, (iv) post ratings or reviews on any third-party website in breach of such third-party website's terms of use, or (v) otherwise engage in activity that is illegal or deemed dangerous, harmful or otherwise inappropriate by Meowtel in its sole discretion;
7. To conduct or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, or chain letters;
8. To impersonate another person or a User or allow any other person or entity to use your user profile to post or view comments;

While using our Services, you may not:

1. Use our Services for any unauthorized or illegal purpose, including but not limited to posting or performing Cat Sitting in violation of local, state, provincial, national, or international law;
2. Post or upload any content which you have not obtained the necessary rights and permissions to use accordingly;
3. Message repeatedly about the same Cat Sitting request ("Spamming");
4. Download any file posted by another User that you know, or reasonably should know, cannot be legally distributed through our Services;
5. Restrict or inhibit any other User from using and enjoying the Public Areas;
6. Imply or state that any statements you make (whether on or off our Services) are endorsed by Meowtel, without the prior written consent of Meowtel;
7. Use a robot, spider, manual, meta tag, "hidden text," agent, robot, script, and/or automatic processes or devices to data-mine, data-crawl, scrape, collect, mine, republish, redistribute, transmit, sell, license, download, manage or index our Services, or the electronic addresses or personal information of others, in any manner;
8. Frame or utilize framing techniques to enclose our Services or any portion thereof;
9. Hack or interfere with our Services, its servers or any connected networks;
10. Adapt, alter, license, sublicense or translate our Services for your own personal or commercial use;
11. Remove, alter, or misuse, visually or otherwise, any copyrights, trademarks or proprietary marks or rights owned by Meowtel and Affiliates;
12. Upload content to our Services that is offensive and/or harmful, including, but not limited to, content that advocates, endorses, condones or promotes racism, bigotry, hatred or physical harm of any kind against any individual or group of individuals;
13. Upload content that provides materials or access to materials that exploit people in an abusive, violent or sexual manner;
14. Use our Services to solicit for any other business, website or service, or otherwise contact Users for employment, contracting or any purpose not related to use of our Services as set forth herein;
15. Use our Services to collect usernames, email addresses, or other personal information of Users by electronic or other means;
16. Use our Services in violation of this Agreement;
17. Use our Services in a manner that is false or misleading (directly or by omission or failure to update information), or for the purpose of accessing or otherwise obtaining Meowtel's trade secret information for public disclosure or other purposes;
18. Attempt to circumvent the payments system or Service Charges in any way including, but not limited to, making or processing payments outside of our Services or planning, requesting, or agreeing to make or process such payments, providing inaccurate information on service confirmations, or otherwise invoicing in a fraudulent manner;
19. Register under different usernames or identities after your account has been suspended or terminated, or register under multiple usernames or false identities, or register using a false or disposable email or phone number;
20. Cause any third party to engage in the restricted activities above; or
21. Use tools with the goal of masking your IP address (like the TOR network).

You understand that all submissions made to Public Areas will be public and that you will be publicly identified by your name or login identification when communicating in Public Areas. Meowtel will not be responsible for the action of any Users with respect to any information or materials posted in Public Areas.

7. Mobile App Updates and Upgrades

By installing the App(s), you consent to the installation of the App(s) and any updates or upgrades that are released through our Services. The App (including any updates or upgrades) may (i) cause your device to automatically communicate with Meowtel's servers to deliver the App functionality and to record usage metrics, (ii) affect App-related preferences or data stored on your device, and (iii) collect personal information as set out in our Privacy Policy. You can uninstall the App(s) at any time.

8. Deactivation and Suspension

Meowtel may terminate the Agreement with any User for any reason (or no reason) in Meowtel's sole discretion, including but not limited to failure to comply with any part of the Agreement and/or any binding policy or terms referenced herein.

Meowtel may suspend your right to use our Services pending its investigation of a potential breach by you of this Agreement. Meowtel may deactivate your account or limit your use of our Services upon its determination or compelling, reasonable suspicion that you breached a provision of this Agreement (a "User Breach"). Meowtel will provide you with written notice of its determination. If you wish to appeal this determination, please contact [email protected] within 14 days of receipt of such notice with the grounds for your appeal.

If Meowtel suspends or deactivates your account or limits your use of our Services pursuant to this Section 8, you are thereafter prohibited from registering and creating a new account under your name or business name, a fake or borrowed name, or the name of any third party, even if you may be acting on behalf of the third party.

If Meowtel suspends or deactivates your account you forfeit any and all rights to access or otherwise utilize any User Generated Content, as outlined in Section 10 or Proprietary Materials as outlined in Section 13, including but not limited to client reviews and information.

Even after your right to use our Services is suspended, terminated or limited, this Agreement will remain enforceable against you. Meowtel reserves the right to take appropriate legal action pursuant to the Agreement.

Meowtel reserves the right to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, all or any portion of our Services at its sole discretion. Meowtel will provide you with notice of any such modification or discontinuation as required by law. To the extent permitted by law, Meowtel shall not be liable to you for any modification or discontinuance of all or any portion of our Services. Meowtel has the right to restrict anyone from completing registration as a Cat Sitter if such person may threaten the safety and integrity of our Services, or if such restriction is necessary to address any other reasonable business concern.

In case of termination by Meowtel for Cat Sitter's breach, any outstanding Payments that have been undrawn by the Cat Sitter shall be credited to Meowtel's account to the extent they offset the damages caused by the Cat Sitter and Cat Sitter shall lose their right to recover any such amounts and Cat Sitter shall have one (1) month to withdraw any remaining amounts or a maintenance fee of $5 per month shall be deducted from such remaining amounts. This paragraph shall not preclude Meowtel from seeking any other adequate remedies in recovery of the damages caused by Cat Sitter's breach of the Agreement.

You may terminate this Agreement at any time by ceasing all use of our Services and deactivating your account. All parts of this Agreement which by their nature should survive the expiration or termination of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect subsequent to and notwithstanding the expiration or termination of this Agreement or your use of our Services.

9. Account, Security, and Telephone Communications

You must register with Meowtel and create an account to use our Services. You are the sole authorized user of your account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of any log-in, and account number provided by you or given to you by Meowtel for accessing our Services. You are solely and fully responsible for all activities that occur under your account, even if not authorized by you. Meowtel has no control over the use of any User's account and expressly disclaims any liability derived therefrom. Should you suspect that any unauthorized party may be using your account or you suspect any other breach of security, you agree to notify Meowtel immediately.

You acknowledge that telephone calls to or from Meowtel, together with its agents and Affiliates, may be monitored and recorded for the purposes of quality control and training.

You verify that any contact information provided to Meowtel, our agents and affiliates, and Users, including, but not limited to, your name, business name, mailing address, email address, your residential or business telephone number, and/or your mobile telephone number, is true and accurate. You verify that you are the current subscriber or owner of any telephone number that you provide. You are strictly prohibited from providing a phone number that is not your own. If we discover that any information provided in connection with your registration is false or inaccurate, we may suspend or deactivate your account. Should any of your contact information change, you agree to immediately notify Meowtel before the change goes into effect by updating your account.

You may at your option, elect to receive SMS notifications from Meowtel. You expressly authorize Meowtel to use autodialer or non-autodialer technology to send text messages to the mobile phone number associated with your Opt In. You also authorize Meowtel to include marketing content in any such messages. You do not have to Opt In or agree to Opt In as a condition of use of the Services.

You consent to the use of an electronic record to document your Opt In.

You confirm that you are the current subscriber to the Opted In mobile phone number or that you are the customary user of that number on a family or business plan and that you are authorized to Opt In. You agree that the foregoing authorized communications may be initiated for any transactional, customer service, advertising, marketing, promotional, debt collection, account administration, or other purposes. To withdraw your consent, contact us via the methods described in the Contact Us section of the Terms of Service, or on the Platform or by following any unsubscribe instructions provided to you in those communications. If you withdraw your consent, certain features of our Services may not be available to you.

10. User Generated Content

"User Generated Content" is defined as any information and materials you provide to Meowtel, its corporate partners, or other Users in connection with your registration for and use of our Services and participation in Meowtel promotional campaigns, including without limitation the information and materials posted or transmitted for use in Public Areas. You are solely responsible for User Generated Content, and we act merely as a passive conduit for your online distribution and publication of your User Generated Content. You acknowledge and agree that Meowtel is not involved in the creation or development of User Generated Content, disclaims any responsibility for User Generated Content, and cannot be liable for claims arising out of or relating to User Generated Content. Further, you acknowledge and agree that Meowtel has no obligation to monitor or review User Generated Content, but reserves the right to limit or remove User Generated Content if it is not compliant with the terms of this Agreement and to use User Generated Content in its Services, including for marketing or advertising as further described below.

You hereby represent and warrant to Meowtel that your User Generated Content (a) will not be false, inaccurate, incomplete or misleading; (b) will not be fraudulent or involve the transfer or sale of illegal, counterfeit or stolen items; (c) will not infringe on any third party's privacy, or copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary right or rights of publicity or personality (to the extent recognized by law in the jurisdiction where the Cat Sitting is performed); (d) will not violate any law, statute, ordinance, code, or regulation (including without limitation those governing export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination, incitement of hatred or false or misleading advertising, anti-spam or privacy); (e) will not be defamatory, libellous, malicious, threatening, or harassing; (f) will not be obscene or contain pornography (including but not limited to child sexual abuse material) or be harmful to minors; (g) will not contain any viruses, scripts such as Trojan Horses, SQL injections, worms, time bombs, corrupt files, cancelbots or other computer programming routines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; (h) will not claim or suggest in any way that you are employed or directly engaged by or affiliated with Meowtel or otherwise purport to act as a representative or agent of Meowtel; and (i) will not create liability for Meowtel or cause Meowtel to lose (in whole or in part) the services of its Internet Service Providers (ISPs) or other partners or suppliers.

Our Services hosts User Generated Content relating to reviews and ratings of specific Cat Sitters ("Feedback"). Feedback is such User's opinion and not the opinion of Meowtel, and has not been verified or approved by Meowtel. You agree that Meowtel is not responsible or liable for any Feedback or other User Generated Content. Meowtel encourages each User to give objective, constructive and honest Feedback about the other Users with whom they have transacted. Meowtel is not obligated to investigate any remarks posted by Users for accuracy or reliability or to consider any statements or materials posted or submitted by Users about any Feedback but may do so at its discretion. You agree that Feedback enables Users to post and other Users to read about Users' expression of their experiences and that you will not complain or take any action merely because you happen to disagree with such feedback. You may request removal of a review that violates this Agreement by contacting [email protected]. Each Client should undertake their own research to be satisfied that a specific Cat Sitter has the right qualifications for a particular Cat Sitting assignment.

Meowtel respects the personal and other rights of others, and expects Users to do the same. Meowtel is entitled to identify a User to third parties who claim that their rights have been infringed by User Generated Content submitted by that User, so that they may attempt to resolve the claim directly.

If a User believes, in good faith, that any User Generated Content provided on or in connection with our Services is objectionable or infringes any of its rights or the rights of others (e.g. counterfeiting, insult, invasion of privacy), the User is encouraged to notify Meowtel. If a User discovers that User Generated Content promotes crimes against humanity, incites hatred and/or violence, or concerns child sexual abuse material, the User must notify Meowtel. Such notification can be made at [email protected] or 1111B S Governors Ave #3554, Dover, DE, 19904.

By posting User Generated Content, Users give Meowtel a perpetual, assignable, sublicensable, unrestricted, irrevocable, and unlimited license to use, publish, copy, create derivative works from, or otherwise exploit such User Generated Content to improve and maintain its services, for marketing purposes including in advertising materials, whether posted on the Meowtel website or on other websites or media. Users agree that User Generated Content shall in no case constitute User confidential information. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Users may delete or revise any previously posted User Generated Content. In such cases, Meowtel shall have no obligation to remove any marketing material or publication which includes such User Generated Content but shall only refrain from making further uses thereof.

11. Links to Third-Party Websites

(a) General Disclaimer

Our Services may contain links (such as hyperlinks) to third-party websites. Such links do not constitute endorsement by Meowtel or association with those websites, their content or their operators. Such links (including without limitation external websites that are framed by our Services as well as any advertisements displayed in connection therewith) are provided as an information service, for reference and convenience only. Meowtel does not control any such websites, and is not responsible for their availability, accuracy, content, advertising, products, or services. It is your responsibility to evaluate the content and usefulness of the information obtained from other websites. You acknowledge and agree that Meowtel is not involved in the creation or development of third-party websites and disclaims any responsibility for third-party websites, and cannot be liable for claims arising out of or relating to third-party websites. Further, you acknowledge and agree that Meowtel has no obligation to monitor, review, or remove links to third-party websites, but reserves the right to limit or remove links to third-party websites on our Services at its sole discretion.

The use of any website controlled, owned or operated by a third party is governed by the terms and conditions of use and privacy policies for those websites. You access such third-party websites at your own risk. Meowtel expressly disclaims any liability arising in connection with your use and/or viewing of any websites or other material associated with links that may appear on our Services. You hereby agree to hold Meowtel harmless from any liability that may result from the use of links that may appear on our Services.

As part of the functionality of our Services, you may link your account with online accounts you may have with third party social networking service providers (such as Apple or Google) (each such account, a "Third-Party Account") by either: (i) providing your Third-Party Account login information through our Services; or (ii) allowing Meowtel to access your Third-Party Account, as is permitted under the applicable terms and conditions that govern your use of each Third-Party Account. You represent that you are entitled to disclose your Third-Party Account login information to Meowtel and/or grant Meowtel access to your Third-Party Account (including, but not limited to, for use for the purposes described herein), without breach by you of any of the terms and conditions that govern your use of the applicable Third-Party Account and without obligating Meowtel to pay any fees or making Meowtel subject to any usage limitations imposed by such third-party service providers. By granting Meowtel access to any Third-Party Accounts, you understand that (i) Meowtel may access, make available and store (if applicable) your public profile that you have provided to and stored in your Third-Party Account (the "SNS Content") so that it is available on and through our Services via your Meowtel account, including without limitation any friend lists, and (ii) Meowtel may submit to and receive additional information from your Third-Party Account to the extent specified when you link your account with the Third-Party Account. Unless otherwise stated in these Terms of Service, all SNS Content shall constitute User Generated Content. Depending on the Third-Party Accounts you choose, and subject to the privacy settings that you have set in such Third-Party Accounts, personally identifiable information or personal data that you post to your Third-Party Accounts may be available on and through your account on our Services. Please note that if a Third-Party Account or associated service becomes unavailable or Meowtel's access to such Third-Party Account is terminated by the third-party service provider, then SNS Content may no longer be available on and through our Services. You will have the ability to disable the connection between your account on our Services and your Third-Party Accounts at any time, by revoking permissions in the account settings of your Third-Party Account. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE THIRD-PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR THIRD-PARTY ACCOUNTS IS GOVERNED SOLELY BY YOUR AGREEMENT(S) WITH SUCH THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS. Meowtel makes no effort to review any SNS Content for any purpose, including but not limited to, for accuracy, legality, or non-infringement, and Meowtel is not responsible for any SNS Content.

12. Meowtel Operates as an Online Marketplace

Meowtel operates as an online marketplace that connects Clients with service providers (Cat Sitters) who wish to perform a variety of Cat Sitting. Meowtel does not perform Cat Sitting and does not employ people to perform Cat Sitting. Cat Sitters operate as independent business owners and are customarily engaged in an independently established business of the same nature as that involved in the services performed for Clients through our Services. Meowtel does not control or direct the Cat Sitters' performance of their services or set their work locations or work hours. Cat Sitters provide services under their own name or business name, and not under Meowtel's name. Cat Sitters provide their own tools and supplies to perform their services; Meowtel does not provide the tools or supplies. Cat Sitters are free to maintain a clientele without any restrictions from Meowtel and are free to offer and provide their services elsewhere, including through competing platforms. Meowtel does not set Cat Sitters' hours or terms of work. Cat Sitters are free to accept or reject Clients and contracts. Cat Sitters are not penalized for rejecting individual Clients or contracts, though if Cat Sitters accept a Client or contract through our Services, they are expected to fulfill their contractual obligations. Cat Sitters set their own rates for services performed in the Meowtel general marketplace, without deduction by Meowtel.

Our Services are not an employment agency service or business and Meowtel is not an employer of any User. Cat Sitters acknowledge and confirm that they are responsible for exercising their own business judgment in entering into Service Agreements and performing Cat Sitting and that, depending on how they exercise such business judgment, there is a chance for individual profit or loss.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 12 of the Terms, Cat Sitters hereby acknowledge that, as an online marketplace, Meowtel derives value from its client information, which is its Proprietary Material (as defined below). Accordingly, Cat Sitters agree to preserve as confidential all such Proprietary Material and not to use such Proprietary Material of Meowtel other than in accordance with the Terms including without limitation to solicit or influence or attempt to influence any Client to engage with Cat Sitter outside of the Services, or to direct any purchase of services to any person, firm, corporation, institution, or other entity in competition with the business of Meowtel.

(b) Nestle Purina

Clients who create a Meowtel account via the Nestle Purina co-branded landing page located at https://meowtel.com/purina will have their information shared with both Meowtel and Nestle Purina PetCare Company ("Purina") as further set forth in the Privacy Policy.

(c) Spot Pet

Clients who create a Meowtel account via the Spot Pet co-branded landing page located at https://meowtel.com/spotpet will have their information shared with both Meowtel and Spot Pet Insurance Services, LLC ("Spot Pet") as further set forth in the Privacy Policy.

(d) AAA Northeast

Clients who create a Meowtel account via the AAA Northeast co-branded landing page located at https://meowtel.com/aaane will have their information shared with both Meowtel and AAA Northeast ("AAA") as further set forth in the Privacy Policy.

13. Intellectual Property Rights

All text, graphics, editorial content, data, formatting, graphs, designs, HTML, look and feel, photographs, music, sounds, images, software, videos, typefaces and other content, including Meowtel designs, trademarks, client information and logos (collectively "Proprietary Material") that Users see or read through our Services is owned by Meowtel, excluding User Generated Content, which Users hereby grant Meowtel a license to use as set forth above in Section 10. Proprietary Material is protected in all forms, media and technologies now known or hereinafter developed. Meowtel owns all Proprietary Material, as well as the coordination, selection, arrangement and enhancement of such Proprietary Materials. The Proprietary Material is protected by domestic and international laws governing copyright, patents, and other proprietary rights. Users may not copy, download, use, redesign, reconfigure, or retransmit anything from our Services without Meowtel's express prior written consent and, if applicable, the consent of the holder of the rights to the User Generated Content. Any use of such Proprietary Material other than as permitted herein is expressly prohibited.

The service marks and trademarks of Meowtel and associated logos are service marks owned by Meowtel. Any other trademarks, service marks, logos and/or trade names appearing via our Services are the property of their respective owners. You may not copy or use any of these marks, logos or trade names without the express prior written consent of the owner.

Meowtel utilizes various open-source software libraries and tools across its platforms (Web, Mobile App, etc.). For more information about these and their respective licenses, please review our Open Source Attributions.

14. Copyright Complaints and Copyright Agent

Meowtel respects the intellectual property of others and expects Users to do the same. If you believe, in good faith, that any materials provided on or in connection with our Services infringe upon your copyright or other intellectual property right, please send the following information to Meowtel's Copyright Agent at: Meowtel Inc., 1111B S Governors Ave #3554, Dover, DE, 19904 or [email protected]:

1. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, including the URL (Internet address) or other specific location on our Services where the material you claim is infringed is visible. Include enough information to allow Meowtel to locate the material, and explain why you think an infringement has taken place;
2. A description of the location where the original or an authorized copy of the copyrighted work exists -- for example, the URL (Internet address) where it is posted or the name of the book in which it has been published;
3. Your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
4. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
5. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate, and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf; and
6. Your electronic or physical signature as the owner of the copyright or the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest.

15. Confidential Information

You acknowledge that Confidential Information (as defined below) is a valuable, special and unique asset of Meowtel and agree that you will not, for the lifetime of your account on Meowtel plus 10 years thereafter, disclose, transfer, or use (or seek to induce others to disclose, transfer or use) any Confidential Information for any purpose other than use of our Services in accordance with these Terms of Service. If relevant, you may disclose the Confidential Information to your authorized employees and agents provided that they are also bound to maintain the confidentiality of Confidential Information. You shall use best efforts to protect Confidential Information from unauthorized disclosure, transfer or use. You shall promptly notify Meowtel in writing of any circumstances that may constitute unauthorized disclosure, transfer, or use of Confidential Information. You shall return all originals and any copies of any and all materials containing Confidential Information to Meowtel promptly upon deactivation of your User account or termination of this Agreement for any reason whatsoever.

The term "Confidential Information" shall mean any and all of Meowtel's trade secrets, confidential and proprietary information, and all other information and data of Meowtel that is not generally known to the public or other third parties who could derive value, economic or otherwise, from its use or disclosure. Confidential Information shall be deemed to include technical data, know-how, research, product plans, products, services, customers, markets, software, developments, inventions, processes, formulas, technology, designs, drawings, engineering, hardware configuration information, marketing, finances, strategic and other Proprietary Materials and confidential information relating to Meowtel or Meowtel's business, operations or properties, including information about Meowtel's staff, Users or partners, or other business information disclosed or obtained directly or indirectly in writing, orally or by drawings or observation.

16. Disclaimer of Warranties

(a) Use Of Our Services Is Entirely At Your Own Risk

THE TECHNOLOGY OF OUR SERVICES IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, GOOD AND WORKMANLIKE SERVICES, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. MEOWTEL MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT PROVIDED THROUGH OUR SERVICES OR THE CONTENT OF ANY SITES LINKED TO OUR SERVICES AND ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY OR IN TORT FOR ANY (I) ERRORS, MISTAKES, OR INACCURACIES OF CONTENT, (II) PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, OF ANY NATURE WHATSOEVER, RESULTING FROM YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF OUR SERVICES, (III) ANY ACCESS TO OR USE OF OUR SECURE SERVERS AND/OR ANY AND ALL PERSONAL INFORMATION AND/OR FINANCIAL INFORMATION STORED THEREIN; AND (IV) EVENTS BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL.

Meowtel does not warrant, endorse, guarantee or assume responsibility for any service advertised or offered by a third-party through our Services or any hyperlinked website or featured in any banner or other advertising, and Meowtel will not be a party to or in any way be responsible for monitoring any transaction between you and other Users, or you and third-party providers of products or services. As with the purchase of a product or service through any medium or in any environment, you should use your best judgment and exercise caution where appropriate. Without limiting the foregoing, Meowtel and Affiliates do not warrant that access to our Services will be uninterrupted or that our Services will be error-free; nor do they make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of our Services, or as to the timeliness, accuracy, reliability, completeness or content of any Cat Sitting, service, information or materials provided through or in connection with the use of our Services. Meowtel and Affiliates are not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User. Meowtel and Affiliates do not warrant that our Services are free from computer viruses, system failures, worms, trojan horses, or other harmful components or malfunctions, including during hyperlink to or from third-party websites. Meowtel and Affiliates will implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to ensure a level of security adapted to the risk for any personal information supplied by you.

Notwithstanding any feature a Client may use to expedite Meowtel selection, each Client is responsible for selecting their Cat Sitter and Meowtel does not warrant any goods or services purchased by a Client and does not recommend any particular Cat Sitter. Meowtel does not provide any warranties or guarantees regarding any Cat Sitter's ability, professional accreditation, registration or license.

(b) No Liability

You acknowledge and agree that Meowtel is only willing to provide our Services if you agree to certain limitations of our liability to you and third parties. Therefore, you agree not to hold Meowtel and Affiliates, or their corporate partners, liable for any claims, demands, damages, expenses, losses, governmental obligations, suits, and/or controversies of every kind and nature, known and unknown, suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, direct, indirect, incidental, actual, consequential, economic, special, or exemplary, including attorneys' fees and costs (collectively, "Liabilities") that have arisen or may arise, relating to your or any other party's use of or inability to use our Services, including without limitation any Liabilities arising in connection with the conduct, act or omission of any User (including without limitation stalking, harassment that is sexual or otherwise, acts of physical violence, and destruction of personal property), any dispute with any User, any instruction, advice, act, or service provided by Meowtel and Affiliates, and any destruction of your User Generated Content.

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL MEOWTEL AND AFFILIATES OR THEIR CORPORATE PARTNERS BE LIABLE FOR, AND YOU HEREBY RELEASE MEOWTEL AND AFFILIATES AND THEIR CORPORATE PARTNERS FROM ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, ACTUAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, ECONOMIC, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES (INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE, SYSTEM FAILURE, FAILURE TO STORE ANY INFORMATION OR OTHER CONTENT MAINTAINED OR TRANSMITTED BY MEOWTEL, THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES, OR ATTORNEYS FEES AND COSTS) ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE OUR SERVICES OR RELATED CAT SITTING SERVICES, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THE SAME. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; IN SUCH CASES THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU IN THEIR ENTIRETY.

MEOWTEL AND AFFILIATES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY LIABILITY THAT MAY ARISE BETWEEN USERS OF ITS MEOWTEL PLATFORM. MEOWTEL AND AFFILIATES ALSO DO NOT ACCEPT ANY LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE QUALITY OR FITNESS OF ANY WORK PERFORMED VIA OUR SERVICES.

IF, NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING EXCLUSIONS, IT IS DETERMINED THAT MEOWTEL AND AFFILIATES OR THEIR CORPORATE PARTNERS ARE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES, IN NO EVENT WILL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY, WHETHER ARISING IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHERWISE, EXCEED THE TOTAL FEES PAID BY YOU TO MEOWTEL (IF YOU ARE A CLIENT) OR TOTAL CAT SITTING FEES ACCRUED TO YOU BY CLIENTS (IF YOU ARE A CAT SITTER), DURING THE 6 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE TIME SUCH CLAIM AROSE, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

17. Indemnification

You hereby agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Meowtel and Affiliates from and against any and all Liabilities incurred in connection with (i) your use or inability to use, or your participation on, our Services; (ii) your participation in Cat Sitting, or your ability or inability to perform or obtain the performance of Cat Sitting or to receive payment therefore; (iii) your breach or violation of this Agreement; (iv) your violation of any law, or the rights of any User or third party; (v) your failure to abide by your representations and warranties in Section 2; (vi) any content submitted by you or using your account to our Services, including but not limited to the extent such content may infringe on the intellectual rights of a third party or otherwise be illegal or unlawful; and (vii) if you are a Client, the acts or omissions of any Client's Agents. Meowtel reserves the right, in its own sole discretion, to assume the exclusive defense and control at its own expense of any matter otherwise subject to your indemnification. You will not, in any event, settle any claim or matter without the prior written consent of Meowtel.

18. Dispute Resolution

To expedite resolution and reduce the cost of any dispute, controversy or claim related to, arising from or regarding your use of our Services, your relationship with Meowtel, Cat Sitting, or this Agreement (including previous versions), ("Dispute"), you and Meowtel agree to first attempt to negotiate any Dispute (except those Disputes expressly excluded below) informally for at least 30 days before initiating arbitration. Such informal negotiations will commence upon written notice. Your address for such notices is the one associated with your account, with an email copy to the email address you have provided to Meowtel. Meowtel's address for such notice is Meowtel Inc., Attention: Legal, 1111B S Governors Ave #3554, Dover, DE, 19904. You agree to use the Platform as your sole means of communicating with other Users and authorize Meowtel to review any such communications in connection with any claim brought by or against you. You acknowledge and agree that by opting to use means of communication other than the Platform, you may be ineligible for relief from Meowtel in connection with an incident related to the Services.

PLEASE NOTE: FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT DISPUTE RESOLUTION TERMS, PLEASE REVIEW SECTION 27 BELOW. IT CONTAINS A BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER.

19. App Store Sourced Apps

The following applies to any App accessed through or downloaded from the Apple App Store (an "App Store Sourced Application"):

You acknowledge and agree that (i) the Agreement is entered into between you and Meowtel only, and Apple is not a party to this Agreement other than as third-party beneficiary as contemplated below, and (ii) Meowtel, not Apple, is solely responsible for the App Store Sourced Application and content thereof. Your use of the App Store Sourced Application must comply with the App Store Terms of Service.

You acknowledge that Apple has no obligation whatsoever to furnish any maintenance and support services with respect to the App Store Sourced Application.

In the event of any failure of the App Store Sourced Application to conform to any applicable warranty, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price, if any, for the App Store Sourced Application to you and, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Apple will have no other warranty obligation whatsoever with respect to the App Store Sourced Application. As between Meowtel and Apple, any other claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs or expenses attributable to any failure to conform to any warranty will be the sole responsibility of Meowtel, subject at all times to warranty limitations and exclusions set forth in this Agreement. You and Meowtel acknowledge that, as between Meowtel and Apple, Apple is not responsible for addressing any claims you have or any claims of any third party relating to the App Store Sourced Application or your possession and use of the App Store Sourced Application, including, but not limited to: (i) product liability claims; (ii) any claim that the App Store Sourced Application fails to conform to any applicable legal or regulatory requirement; and (iii) claims arising under consumer protection or similar legislation.

You and Meowtel acknowledge that, in the event of any third-party claim that the App Store Sourced Application or your possession and use of that App Store Sourced Application infringes that third party's intellectual property rights, as between Meowtel and Apple, Meowtel (and not Apple) will be solely responsible for the investigation, defense, settlement and discharge of any such intellectual property infringement claim, though only to the extent required by this Agreement.

You and Meowtel acknowledge and agree that Apple, and Apple's subsidiaries, are third-party beneficiaries of this Agreement as related to your license of the App Store Sourced Application, and that, upon your acceptance of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Apple will have the right (and will be deemed to have accepted the right) to enforce this Agreement as related to your license of the App Store Sourced Application against you as a third-party beneficiary thereof.

Without limiting any other terms of this Agreement, you must comply with all applicable third-party terms of agreement when using the App Store Sourced Application.

20. No Agency; No Employment

No agency, partnership, joint venture, employer-employee or franchiser-franchisee relationship is intended or created by this Agreement.

21. General Provisions

Failure by Meowtel to enforce any provision(s) of this Agreement will not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right. This Agreement constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between you and Meowtel with respect to its subject matter, and supersedes and governs any and all prior agreements or communications except as otherwise specified in the Arbitration Agreement in Section 27. However, this Agreement does not supersede other agreements about other subject matter that you may have with Meowtel. The provisions of this Agreement are intended to be interpreted in a manner which makes them valid, legal, and enforceable. Except for the "Agreement Prohibiting Class Actions and Non-Individualized Relief" provision in Section 27 below, in the event any provision is found to be partially or wholly invalid, illegal or unenforceable, (1) such provision shall be modified or restructured to the extent and in the manner necessary to render it valid, legal, and enforceable or, (2) if such provision cannot be so modified or restructured, it shall be excised from the Agreement without affecting the validity, legality or enforceability of any of the remaining provisions. You hereby acknowledge and agree that we may assign or transfer this Agreement without your consent, including but not limited to assignments: (i) to a parent or subsidiary, (ii) to an acquirer of assets, or (iii) to any other successor or acquirer. Upon the effective date of the assignment of the Agreement (a) Meowtel shall be relieved of all rights, obligations and/or liabilities to you arising in respect of events postdating the effective date of the assignment and, (b) the assignee entity shall replace Meowtel for the performance of this Agreement. This Agreement may not be assigned or transferred by you without our prior written approval. Any assignment in violation of this Section 21 shall be null and void. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of Meowtel, its successors and assigns.

22. Licensing

Cat Sitters alone are responsible for identifying and obtaining any required licenses, permits, or registrations before offering services and undertaking Cat Sitting. Indeed, certain types of Cat Sitting and services may be prohibited altogether, and it is the responsibility of Cat Sitters to avoid such prohibited Cat Sitting and services. Penalties may include fines or other law enforcement. If you have questions about how national, state, and local laws apply to your Cat Sitting and services on our Services, you should first seek appropriate legal guidance.

Because Meowtel does not supervise, scope, direct, control, or monitor a Cat Sitter's work or performance of Cat Sitting, Clients must determine for themselves whether a Cat Sitter is qualified to perform the specific Cat Sitting at hand. Clients may wish to consult their national, state, or local requirements to determine whether certain Cat Sitting is required to be performed by a licensed or otherwise registered professional. Clients may also wish to discuss with their Cat Sitter any specific hazards, obstacles, or impediments in the Cat Sitting location (both visible and concealed) that may impact the performance of the Cat Sitting.

23. Changes to this Agreement and our Services

Meowtel reserves the right, at its sole and absolute discretion, to change, modify, add to, supplement, suspend, discontinue, or delete any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement (including the Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Harassment Policy) and review, improve, modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, our Services or any content or information through our Services at any time, effective with or without prior notice and without any liability to Meowtel. Meowtel will endeavor to notify you of material changes to this Agreement by email, but will not be liable for any failure to do so. If any future changes to this Agreement are unacceptable to you or cause you to no longer be in compliance with this Agreement, you must deactivate your account, and immediately stop using, our Services. Your continued use of our Services following any revision to this Agreement constitutes your complete and irrevocable acceptance of any and all such changes, except where prohibited by any laws or regulations in your jurisdiction. Meowtel may also impose limits on certain features or restrict your access to part or all of our Services without notice or liability.

24. No Rights of Third Parties

The provisions of this Agreement are for the sole benefit of the Parties and their successors and permitted assigns, and they will not be construed as conferring any rights to any third party (including any third-party beneficiary rights except as set forth in Section 19) or to give any person or entity other than the User any interest, remedy, claim, liability, reimbursement, claim of action or any other claim of action with respect to or in connection with any agreement or provision contained herein or contemplated hereby. None of the terms of this Agreement are enforceable by any persons who are not a party to this Agreement, provided, however, that a Client's Agent may act in the name of and on behalf of his/her Client.

25. Notices and Consent to Receive Notices Electronically

You consent to receive any agreements, notices, disclosures and other communications (collectively, "Notices") to which this Agreement refers electronically, including without limitation by email or by posting Notices on the Sites. You agree that all Notices that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. Unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, all Notices under this Agreement will be in writing and will be deemed to have been duly given when received, if personally delivered or sent by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested; when receipt is electronically confirmed, if transmitted by facsimile or email; or the day it is shown as delivered by the overnight delivery service's tracking information, if sent for next day delivery by a recognized overnight delivery service.

If you have any questions about these Terms of Service or about our Services, please contact us by email at [email protected] or by mail to 1111B S Governors Ave #3554, Dover, DE, 19904.

26. Consent to Electronic Signatures

By using our Services, you agree to transact electronically through our Services. You agree that your electronic signature is the legal equivalent of your manual signature. You further agree that your use of a key pad, mouse or other device to select an item, button, icon or similar act/action, constitutes your signature as if actually signed by you in writing. You also agree that no certification authority or other third-party verification is necessary to validate your electronic signature, and the lack of such certification or third-party verification will not in any way affect the enforceability of your electronic signature.

27. Dispute Resolution

PLEASE NOTE: THIS AGREEMENT GOVERNS HOW DISPUTES BETWEEN YOU AND MEOWTEL CAN BE RESOLVED. IT CONTAINS A BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION PROVISION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY AS IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING, IF APPLICABLE, YOUR RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF ARBITRATION.

IN ADDITION, BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ, UNDERSTAND AND AGREE, WITHOUT LIMITATION OR QUALIFICATION, TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT AND YOU ACCEPT ALL OF ITS TERMS.

IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT, YOU MAY NOT USE OR ACCESS OUR SERVICES. PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY AS IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND GOVERNS HOW YOU AND MEOWTEL CAN BRING CLAIMS COVERED BY THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. THIS SECTION WILL, WITH LIMITED EXCEPTION, REQUIRE YOU AND MEOWTEL TO SUBMIT CLAIMS TO BINDING AND FINAL ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS.

(a) Agreement to Binding Arbitration

IN EXCHANGE FOR THE BENEFITS OF THE SPEEDY, ECONOMICAL, AND IMPARTIAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE OF ARBITRATION, YOU AND MEOWTEL MUTUALLY AGREE TO WAIVE YOUR RESPECTIVE RIGHTS TO RESOLUTION OF ALL DISPUTES OR CLAIMS COVERED BY THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IN A COURT OF LAW BY A JUDGE OR JURY AND AGREE TO RESOLVE ANY DISPUTES BY BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AS SET FORTH HEREIN.

This agreement to arbitrate ("Arbitration Agreement") is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA") and survives the termination of this Agreement and your relationship with Meowtel.

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you and Meowtel agree to arbitrate any and all disputes and claims ("collectively, "Claim" or "Claims") relating to, arising from or regarding your use of our Services, your relationship with Meowtel, Cat Sitting, or this Agreement (including previous versions), including Claims by Meowtel, Claims against Meowtel and Claims against Meowtel's Affiliates (including its parent company).

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, this includes, but is not limited to, claims related to payments, any city, county, state or federal wage and hour law, compensation, meal or rest breaks, expense reimbursement, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, retaliation, fraud, defamation, trade secrets, unfair competition, personal injury, property damage or loss, emotional distress, any promotions or offers made by Meowtel; breach of any express or implied contract or breach of any express or implied covenant; claims arising under federal or state consumer protection laws; claims arising under antitrust laws; claims arising under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act; claims arising under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Civil Rights Act, Uniform Trade Secrets Act, Americans With Disabilities Act, Age Discrimination in Employment Act, Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, Family Medical Leave Act, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (except for individual claims for employee benefits under any benefit plan sponsored by Meowtel and covered by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or funded by insurance), and state or local statutes, if any, addressing the same or similar subject matters; and all other federal, state or local statutory and common law claims.

If there is a dispute about the arbitrability of any claim (including about the formation, scope, applicability, interpretation, validity, and enforceability of this Arbitration Agreement), you and Meowtel agree that this threshold dispute shall be resolved by the arbitrator, except as expressly provided below.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTAND THAT YOU AND MEOWTEL ARE WAIVING THE RIGHT TO SUE IN COURT OR HAVE A JURY TRIAL FOR ALL DISPUTES AND CLAIMS, UNLESS EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED IN THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT. THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT IS INTENDED TO REQUIRE ARBITRATION OF EVERY CLAIM OR DISPUTE THAT CAN LAWFULLY BE ARBITRATED, EXCEPT THOSE CLAIMS AND DISPUTES THAT, BY THE TERMS OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT, ARE EXPRESSLY EXCLUDED FROM THE REQUIREMENT TO ARBITRATE.

(b) Prohibition of Class Actions and Non-Individualized Relief

Except as otherwise required under applicable law, you and Meowtel agree that any arbitration will be limited to the Claim between Meowtel (and/or, if applicable, its Affiliates) and you individually. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT YOU AND MEOWTEL ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT, CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION, OR ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING ("Class Action Waiver"). Further, unless both you and Meowtel otherwise agree, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims, and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. The arbitrator shall have no authority to consider or resolve any Claim or issue any relief on any basis other than an individual basis. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this Class Action Waiver shall not apply to California Private Attorney General Act Claims, which are addressed separately below.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Arbitration Agreement or the AAA Rules, disputes regarding the scope, applicability, enforceability, revocability, or validity of the Class Action Waiver may be resolved only by a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. In any case in which: (i) the Claim is filed as a class, collective, or representative action and (ii) there is a final judicial determination that the Class Action Waiver is unenforceable as to any Claims, then those Claims shall be severed from any remaining Claims and may remain in a civil court of competent jurisdiction, but the Class Action Waiver shall be enforced in arbitration on an individual basis as to all other Claims to the fullest extent possible.

(c) Representative PAGA Waiver

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Arbitration Agreement or the AAA Rules, to the fullest extent allowed by law: (1) you and Meowtel agree not to bring a representative action on behalf of others under the California Private Attorneys General Act ("PAGA"), California Labor Code 2698 et seq., in any court or in arbitration, and (2) for any claim brought on a private attorney general basis, including under PAGA, both you and Meowtel agree that any such Claim shall be resolved in arbitration on an individual basis only (i.e., to resolve whether you have personally been aggrieved or subject to any violations of law), and that such an action may not be used to resolve the claims or rights of other individuals in a single or collective proceeding (i.e., to resolve whether other individuals have been aggrieved or subject to any violations of law) (collectively, "Representative PAGA Waiver").

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Arbitration Agreement or the AAA Rules, disputes regarding the scope, applicability, enforceability, revocability, or validity of this representative PAGA Waiver may be resolved only by a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not by an arbitrator. If any provision of this representative PAGA Waiver is found to be unenforceable or unlawful for any reason: (i) the unenforceable provision shall be severed from this Agreement; (ii) severance of the unenforceable provision shall have no impact whatsoever on the Arbitration Agreement or the requirement that any remaining Claims be arbitrated on an individual basis pursuant to the Arbitration Agreement; and (iii) any such representative PAGA or other representative private attorneys general act Claims must be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction and not in arbitration. To the extent that there are any Claims to be litigated in a civil court of competent jurisdiction because a civil court of competent jurisdiction determines that the representative PAGA Waiver is unenforceable with respect to those Claims, the parties agree that court litigation of those Claims shall be stayed pending the outcome of any individual Claims in arbitration.

(d) Rules and Logistics Governing Arbitration

In order to initiate arbitration, a claim must be filed with the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") and the written Demand for Arbitration (available at www.adr.org) must be provided to the other party. The arbitration will be commenced and conducted under the AAA Rules in effect at the time the arbitration is initiated and modified by the terms set forth in this Agreement, and, where appropriate, the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for Consumer Related Disputes ("AAA Consumer Rules"), both of which are available at the [AAA website](https://www.adr.org) or by calling the AAA at 1-800-778-7879. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if requested by you and if proper based on the facts and circumstances of the Claims presented, the arbitrator shall have the discretion to select a different set of AAA Rules. You and Meowtel agree that the arbitration shall be administered before a single arbitrator mutually agreed upon by the parties, and if the parties cannot agree within 30 days after names of potential arbitrators have been proposed, then by a single arbitrator who is chosen by the AAA.

As part of the arbitration, the parties will have the opportunity for reasonable discovery of non-privileged information that is relevant to the Claim(s). The arbitrator may award any individualized remedies that would be available in court. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only in favor of the individual party seeking relief and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by that party's individual Claims. The arbitrator will provide a reasoned written statement of the arbitrator's decision, which shall explain the award given and the findings and conclusions on which the decision is based.

The arbitrator will decide the substance of all Claims in accordance with applicable law, and will honor all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.

Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation will be governed by the AAA Rules (and, where appropriate, limited by the AAA Consumer Rules) subject to the following modifications:

(i) If Meowtel initiates arbitration under this Arbitration Agreement, Meowtel will pay all AAA filing and arbitration fees;

(ii) If a Client or Cat Sitter files a Claim in accordance with this Arbitration Agreement and the associated claim for damages does not exceed USD $10,000, Meowtel will pay all AAA filing and arbitration fees unless the arbitrator finds that either the substance of your claim or the relief sought in your Demand for Arbitration was frivolous or was brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b));

(iii) If a Client or Cat Sitter files a Claim in accordance with this Arbitration Agreement and the associated claim for damages exceeds USD $10,000, Meowtel shall pay all costs unique to arbitration (as compared to the costs of adjudicating the same claims before a court), including the regular and customary arbitration fees and expenses, and the Client or Cat Sitter shall be responsible for contributing up to an amount equal to the filing fee that would be paid to initiate the claim in the court of general jurisdiction in the state in which the Cat Sitting was performed, unless a lower fee amount would be owed by you as required by law or the applicable AAA Rules. Any dispute as to whether a cost is unique to arbitration shall be resolved by the arbitrator. If the arbitrator finds that the substance of your claim or the relief sought is frivolous or brought for an improper purpose (as measured by the standards set forth in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)), however, then the allocation of fees will be governed by the applicable AAA Rules;

(iv) Except as required by law or the applicable AAA Rules, each party shall pay its own attorneys' fees and pay any costs that are not unique to the arbitration (i.e., costs that each party would incur if the Claim(s) were litigated in a court, such as costs to subpoena witnesses and/or documents, take depositions and purchase deposition transcripts, copy documents, etc.); and

(v) At the conclusion of any arbitration, the arbitrator may award reasonable fees and costs or any portion thereof to the prevailing party, to the extent authorized by applicable law or the applicable AAA Rules. Unless you and Meowtel agree otherwise, any arbitration hearings with a Cat Sitter will take place in the county of the Cat Sitter's billing address, and any arbitration hearings with a Client will take place in the county in which the Client received Cat Sitting services. If AAA arbitration is unavailable in your county, the arbitration hearings will take place in the nearest available location for a AAA arbitration.

(e) Exceptions to Arbitration

The Arbitration Agreement shall not require arbitration of the following types of claims:

1. Claims for workers' compensation, disability insurance and unemployment insurance benefits;
2. Small claims actions that are within the scope of small claims court jurisdiction and brought on an individual basis;
3. Applications for provisional remedies, preliminary injunctions, and temporary restraining orders relating to actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of a party's copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights;
4. Representative action brought on behalf of others under PAGA or other private attorney general acts, to the extent the representative PAGA Waiver in Section 18(d) is deemed unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction under applicable law not preempted by the FAA; and
5. Claims that may not be subject to arbitration as a matter of generally applicable law not preempted by the FAA.
6. Nothing in this Arbitration Agreement prevents you from making a report to or filing a claim or charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, U.S. Department of Labor, Securities Exchange Commission, National Labor Relations Board, or Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs, or a similar local, state or federal agency, and nothing in this Arbitration Agreement shall be deemed to preclude or excuse a party from bringing an administrative claim before any agency in order to fulfill the party's obligation to exhaust administrative remedies before making a claim in arbitration. This Agreement and Arbitration Agreement do not prevent you from participating in an investigation by a government agency of any report, claim or charge otherwise covered by this Arbitration Agreement and do not prevent you from receiving an award for information provided to any government agencies.

(f) Severability

In addition to the severability provisions in subsections (b) and (c), in the event that any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is deemed illegal or unenforceable under applicable law not preempted by the FAA, such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall be given full force and effect.

(g) Opt Out of Arbitration Agreement

For Cat Sitters, you may opt out of the requirement to arbitrate if you have not previously agreed to an arbitration provision in Meowtel's Terms of Service where you had the opportunity to opt out of the requirement to arbitrate. If you have previously agreed to such an arbitration provision, you may opt out of any revisions to your prior arbitration agreement made by this version of the arbitration agreement in the manner specified below, but opting out of this arbitration agreement has no effect on any previous other, or future arbitration agreements that you may have with Meowtel.

Except as specified in this arbitration agreement, if you are a Cat Sitter, you may opt out of the Arbitration Agreement by notifying Meowtel in writing within 30 days of your agreement to these Terms of Service. To opt out, you must send a signed written notification to Meowtel Inc., 1111B S Governors Ave #3554, Dover, DE, 19904, Attention: Legal, that includes (a) your account username, (b) your name, (c) your address, (d) your telephone number, (e) your email address, and (f) a clear statement indicating that you wish to opt out of the Arbitration Agreement.

28. Governing Law

Except as expressly provided otherwise, this Agreement and your use of our Services will be governed by, and will be construed under, the laws of the State of California, without regard to choice of law principles. This choice of law provision is only intended to specify the use of California law to interpret this Agreement and is not intended to create any substantive right to non-Californians to assert claims under California law whether by statute, common law, or otherwise.

29. RELEASE

TO THE EXTENT APPLICABLE, YOU HEREBY WAIVE THE PROTECTIONS OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL CODE 1542, WHICH READS AS FOLLOWS:

"A GENERAL RELEASE DOES NOT EXTEND TO CLAIMS THAT THE CREDITOR OR RELEASING PARTY DOES NOT KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN HIS OR HER FAVOR AT THE TIME OF EXECUTING THE RELEASE AND THAT, IF KNOWN BY HIM OR HER, WOULD HAVE MATERIALLY AFFECTED HIS OR HER SETTLEMENT WITH THE DEBTOR OR RELEASED PARTY."

If you are not a California resident, you waive your rights under any statute, regulation, or common law principle similar to Section 1542 that governs your rights in the jurisdiction of your residence.

Further, in consideration of the services provided by Meowtel, you hereby release Meowtel from any and all claims, causes of action, lawsuits, injuries, damages, losses, liabilities or other harms resulting from or relating to telephone calls or text messages, including without limitation any claims, causes of action, or lawsuits based on any alleged violations of the law (including, without limitation, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, Truth in Caller ID Act, Telemarketing Sales Rule, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or any similar state and local acts or statutes, and any federal or state tort or consumer protection laws).

Meowtel and Affiliates cannot and do not guarantee that any personal information supplied by you will not be misappropriated, intercepted, deleted, destroyed or used by others.

30. Acknowledgement and Consent

I HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THE FOREGOING TERMS OF SERVICE, AS WELL AS THE PRIVACY POLICY AND ANTI-HARASSMENT POLICY, AND AGREE THAT MY USE OF THE SERVICES IS AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF MY AGREEMENT TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT.